Purchase
Available on Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon Universal
[edsanimate_start entry_animation_type= “pulse” entry_delay= “0” entry_duration= “1” entry_timing= “linear” exit_animation_type= “” exit_delay= “” exit_duration= “” exit_timing= “” animation_repeat= “1” keep= “no” animate_on= “scroll” scroll_offset= “75” custom_css_class= “”]
🌟 Please join me in welcoming author Charley Descoteaux to my blog. Charley is here today celebrating the release of her fabulous new book, Always Forward! Never Straight. She’s kindly sharing with us the five things she learned while writing this story! 🌟
Always Forward! Never Straight by Charley Descoteaux
Love isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Publisher: CeeTwo Publications
Cover Artist: Rainbow Danger Designs
Release Date: January 1, 2019
Length: 86 pages
Pairing / Genre(s) / Keyword(s): M/M Contemporary Romance
Blurb
Love isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Baxter Bryan is the nerdy half of BaxCo, a start-up in Portland’s Silicon Forest creating cutting-edge high-tech toys. He’s also a hermit. When BaxCo sponsors the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon, Bryan decides to break out of his comfort zone and do more than listen to the music with a beer in hand. The race has barely started when he bumps into a fit, handsome man, causing sparks to fly. But the long hours needed to make BaxCo a success aren’t the only reason Bryan spends most of his time alone in his apartment.
Cay Nissen runs every day to stay in shape. He would love to run away from his job in a Silicon Forest cube farm, but keeps returning to support his teenaged daughter. His true love is music. Cay writes songs for the band he helped form in high school but doesn’t see any way to turn music into a career. The half marathon seemed like a decent way to pass a Saturday, make his boss happy, and catch a performance of his old band all at the same time. When he meets a man who sparks his interest, the safety of his cubicle isn’t the only part of his life that’s in jeopardy of changing.
☆ Guest Post ☆
Five Things I Learned Writing Always Forward! Never Straight
Happy New Year! Thank you for having me Addison!
I love reading blog posts about the things authors learn while writing their stories, whether those center on research or are more personal, so here’s one about what I learned while writing Always Forward! Never Straight.
1. I can’t write fluff. I’ve tried, and have gotten very close a few times, but some angst always seems to sneak in through the backstory.
2. Outlines are fun! Okay, not really. I’m a pantser through and through, but this is the first story I’ve ever started by writing an outline. It was only a couple of paragraphs, but they covered the whole story. This helped tremendously with my focus. Like in other areas of life, focusing on a goal will get you there (or at least a little closer, and every little bit helps 😊).
3. Tropes are fun! Okay, I already knew that, but mainly from a reader’s point of view. This is the first story that started with a trope, even though it changed a lot as I went along.
4. Tropes are fun to play around with! Always Forward! Never Straight started as an “enemies to lovers” tale, but the two players didn’t cooperate. The first thing that changed in my outline was that the two men didn’t know they were supposed to be enemies! Not at first, anyway…
5. Most importantly, I learned that early setbacks don’t have to permanently sideline a story. The idea for this novella came to me about two years ago, and not long after I finished writing it I was in a car accident that kept me from doing anything with it for much longer than I had planned. It also received a couple of rejections from publishers, and went through some serious changes during editing. It’s still true to my original idea but will read much differently—hopefully much better—than the original version. As someone who’s still getting used to my “new normal” health-wise, that’s very encouraging. I hope you enjoy Bryan and Cay’s story!
Thanks for reading! Here’s a short excerpt that features a character I haven’t said much about. Rosie is the other half of BaxCo and Bryan’s cousin who’s like a big sister to him. Stick around after the excerpt and let us know something you’ve learned that stuck with you, and enter my Rafflecopter for a chance to win an Amazon gift card!
Excerpt
While I drove to the airport to pick up Rosie on Friday, I had a little too much time to think. Normally, while I’m not doing anything exciting, I’m doing something that requires me to use my brain, if not my body. Driving was the opposite—most of my mind was free to dwell on Cay, but not in the way I would have liked. No, I wasn’t thinking about his amazing hands or the way I felt when he kissed me, not even the hypnotic way his muscles rippled when he moved.
For almost an hour and a half, I teased myself with thoughts of where my relationship with Cay was going. Where did I want it to go? Where did he? Who, exactly, would be the one making the decision?
Cay seemed to have a fine life with his daughter and his friends in the band—but I still didn’t know where he went when we parted in the mornings or what he thought when he got quiet, or why he had a dragon tattooed on his arm.
As for myself, I didn’t seem to know much more, despite knowing myself for almost forty-six years. By the time I saw Rosie disembarking, I’d figured out one thing, though.
Living with people in my life—with a man in my life—was dangerous. Scary. But living without one was starting to get a tad boring.
I’m getting tired of being on my own.
I helped Rosie retrieve her luggage and listened to her talk about her trip. She waited until we were in the car, halfway to her modest house in the West Hills, to start grilling me about Cay.
“So. This man you’re seeing.”
“Rosie…”
“Don’t try to pretend you’re surprised I’m bringing him up.”
“Not surprised so much as…reluctant to discuss it.”
“Get over it.” I glanced at her and she smiled an apology. “That wasn’t supposed to sound so harsh. But I do want to hear about him.”
“He’s…” He’s everything I always wanted in a man. No. He’s…so hot I can hardly stand it. No. “He’s nice.”
“Jeez, B. You make it sound too exciting.” She waited, impatiently, for all of two seconds. “Have you brought him home yet?”
Meet the Author
Charley Descoteaux is the author of the Buchanan House Love Stories. Book One was a USA Today Must-Read Romance.
Charley has always heard voices. She was relieved to learn they were fictional characters, and started writing when they insisted daydreaming just wasn’t good enough. In exchange, they’ve agreed to let her sleep once in a while. Charley has survived earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods, but couldn’t make it through a single day without stories.
Newsletter | Blog | Facebook Page | Facebook Profile | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | eMail
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
“Love isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.” – ain’t that the truth?! Love the title, and the 5-things-I-learned. I think I’m going to borrow that topic. I signed up for a guest post on my Snowed In release day and I never know what to write in my guest posts, but this is interesting since it’s my first fantasy story and I learned a lot! 😀
Yes to all of that. Love the title and the tag line! And I’m always making notes like that of good guest post topics to file away for future reference! This was a fun one. ❤️